Charity out-of-pocket after ten month wait for cash
Users at the bereavement centre are still waiting for the cheque as promised from Waitrose - Credit: Archant
A bereavement charity was left out-of-pocket after waiting ten months for a cheque from a leading supermarket.
The Drop-in Bereavement centre on Grange Road, Plaistow, was told in March last year they had been awarded a cheque for £380 from a Waitrose community scheme, based in Westfield Stratford City.
Olive Brade, 57, who co-founded the Newham charity with Sandra Bronson, 50, said: “The Waitrose money was going to cover the cost for the materials we need for the therapies.
“If the therapies are funded then we can provide this service for free.”
Instead, money put aside for a free meal for users was spent on therapies, leaving the charity members out of pocket having to pay for the meal themselves.
Ms Brade said: “We’re not angry about this because we’re so grateful the money has been awarded to us but we’re rather taken aback by the lack of apology and frustrated after 10 months of phone calls.”
Ms Brade explained they received a cheque last year but it was addressed incorrectly and they were not able to cash it. They had been trying since March to get Waitrose to resend the cheque with the correct name on it.
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The charity is the only support offered to the borough’s bereaved families.
It relies mainly on donations and fund-raising to cover the cost of their services which include counselling and therapy.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We make every effort to send donations as soon as we can, but unfortunately, in this instance, the process of re-issuing a cheque was subject to a number of delays.
They said the cheque had now been posted to the branch, and was due to arrive on Wednesday.
You can get in touch with the bereavement centre by emailing: dropinbereavement@btinternet.com. Tel 0207 511 6444) (m 07983 257 502
